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Despite bankruptcy, General Motors launches a new radio campaign this week. The automaker has filed for Chapter 11 protection, but in a new multiplatform campaign which includes radio the focus is reinvention. “The only chapter we’re focused on is chapter one,” says the spot, which begins airing tomorrow. The company admits mistakes have been made but hopes consumers will feel comfortable buying GM cars. The campaign’s budget hasn’t been released. GM’s quick return to radio is obviously welcome news but its bankruptcy filing shows its advertising agencies — Publicis Groupe’s Starcom MediaVest Group and Interpublic’s McCann Erickson — are owed a combined $163 million. Both may push stations to wait to get reimbursed for media already bought until GM pays the agencies. But in a call with investors last month, Interpublic CEO Michael Roth said, “There is a lot of flexibility in bankruptcy in terms of who gets paid, when they get paid and what amount.” The agency has been pushing broadcasters to accept sequential liability terms, meaning stations bills won’t be settled unless the agency gets its cash. While some have resisted, other media outlets have accepted those requirements.

Chrysler’s ad agency backs off effort to share the risk. Hours of angry phone calls filling the voicemail boxes of BBDO executives proved to be enough for the agency to rescind its request that stations sign an agreement that would potentially have made it more difficult for broadcasters to collect on unpaid Chrysler business. The Media Financial Management Association (MFM) says the demand for what’s known as “sequential liability” would have been retroactive for ads placed by PHD — the buying arm of BBDO — as well as for future campaigns. Although MFM doesn’t take positions on how stations should respond, its president/CEO Mary Collins tells Inside Radio, “It looked like an agency trying to take advantage of the economy to rewrite the terms of buying.” PHD has been hurt by Chrysler’s declining business. Bankruptcy filings show parent BBDO is owed $58 million by the automaker. General Motors’ ad agency Interpublic says it’s feeling more pushback from media outlets worried about its looming bankruptcy. Interpublic CFO Frank Mergenthaler told investors last month on a conference call, “Everybody is fighting for their cash protection.”